Method of maturing and bleaching flour.



J. A. WESENER.

METHOD OF MATURING AND BLEACHING FLOUR.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2, 1913.

1,096,480. Patented May 12, 1914.

JOHN A. WESENER, OF CHICAGO, ILLTNOIS.

METHOD OF MATURIN G AND BLEACHING FLOUR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed June 2, 1913. Serial N 0. 771,252.

Patented May 12, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. WESENER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use- .ful Improvements in Methods of Maturing improvements upon the method of using this agent for the treatment of flour disclosed in my Patent No. 863,684, art of bleaching and aging flour, granted August 20, 1907. The action of these two ases upon 'flour, as I have discovered by stu y and experiment extending over a period of several years, is peculiar and in some respects quite unexpected. Nitrosyl chlorid gas is an extremely dwerful bleaching agent. A as (measured in the quefied form will h each in the neighborhood of two undred thousand pounds of flour. The bleaching effect of chlorin gas is very'consideraloly less. A pound of chlorin gas will bleach only from fi've to ten thousand pounds of flour. However, the action of the. chlorin on the gluten in the flour is very marked and, when properly applied to the flour, very beneficial. It partlally hydrolizes or splits up the gluten making it more elastic and more responsive to. the yeast and the gases of fermentation. As a result the baking. qualities of flour properly treated with chlorin gas are improved. Flour thus treated produces a loaf of larger volume, finer texture and more uniform porosity than the untreated flour. On the other hand, nitrosyl chlorid as, if used in moderate uantities, has litt e or no efl'ect upon the gluten of the flour or upon its baking qualit1es. If used in suflicient quantltles to act upon the gluten, instead of bleaching the flour, it ives it a reddish tint which is considered 0 jectionable. Furthermore, the excessive use of this gas aifects the chemical character of the oil with the result that after the flour has been kept for a time it becomes rancid. In view of these facts it-is of the utmost importance, inorder that the best results should be obtained, having regard both to the removal ofthe color from the flour and, the improvement in its baking guahties, that in applying the agent to the our the proper proportions should be maintained between the nitrosyl chlorid and the chlorin. It is also important that the gaseous agent should be brought into contact with the flour improper and controllable quantities. If uniformly good results are to be obtained it is very desirable also that the agent be free from impurities and practically anhydrous. The presence of impurities, besides having possible deleterious effects on the flour, makes accuracy of control impossible. If there be any appreciable amount of moisture in the gases acids will be formed which, besides decreasing the amount of the active agents, are in them selves injurious to the flour. These acids, if present in the gaseous agent, corrode the metal parts of the apparatus, the packing of the valves, and the like, and besides shortening the life of the apparatus, produce metal salts which are carried into the flour and injure and taint it.

Having these considerations in view, I have devised a method of treating the flour with nitrosyl chlorid gas and chlorin which is far superior to the method disclosed in my patent above mentioned. This method is based primarily upon the discovery which I.

have made that when nitrosyl chlorid gas and chlorin are liquefied and mixed together in the liquefied state no chemical action takes place which changes their individual characteristics, and, upon the further discovery that although the boiling points of chlorin and nitrosyl chlorid are not the same, when these gases are mixed together a in liquid form they will vaporize in constant proportions for all operative temperatures and pressures.

The gases are preferably made separately, liquefied mixed together in containers and so supplied to .he millers. The nitrosyl chlorid is preferably made by decomposing nitric acid by means of sulfur dioxid which gives nitn'c oxid and combinin this with chlorin. Each asis carefully dehydrated. The agent should not contain substantially moisture. By describing the gases as anhydrous I mean that they do not contain a substantially larger ercentage of moisture than this. The lique ed gases are mixed together preferably in the proportion of one more than two-tenths of one per cent. of

' weight.

Any suitable form of apparatus may be employed for applying the gaseous agent to the flour. I preferably make use of the apparatus disclosed in my pending application Serial No. 752,400, filed March 6, 1913.

The accompanying drawing shows dia-' grammatically and in simplified form an apparatus of th1s type.

A designates the treating chamber, flour being introduced into the same through a spout B and the treated flour being discharged through a spout C. Flour falls through cones D and is kept in' agitation by means of disks E on a revolving shaft F.

G designates the container holding the nitrosyl chlorid and chlorin mixed in liquefied form. This mixture is vaporized, by opening valve H, and flows through the pipe I into the treating chamber. At the point it enters the treating chamber it isdiluted by air from a pipe .J connected with an air pump K. Preferably the extremity of pipe I extends into the end of pipe J as shown so that the gas is drawn out through the pipe I by the air current. By applying the air to the gas at the point the latter enters the treating chamber the formation of acids in the conductors is prevented even though the atmosphere should contain some moisture.

The amount of the gaseous agent used for treating a given quantity of flour will vary somewhat according to the character of the flour treated, the amount of coloring matter that it contains, and the quantity and character of the gluten. Flours containing a large amount of gluten or in which the gluten is tough and harsh, will require scribed method rid and chlorin gases toget more treatment than'flours made of softer wheat or wheat containing a smaller percentage of gluten. The amount of the agent for treating ten thousand pounds of flour will vary from one-fourth of a pound to one pound, measuring the gases in the liquefied state.

It will be seen that the hereinabove at: of employing nitrosyl ch10;

r for the bleaching and maturing of flour has several advantages over the method described in my prior patent abovereferred to and, I believe, over all methods of bleaching and maturing flour which have been heretofore used or proposed. The gaseous, agent can be applied to the flour practically free from all impurities. This is not possible if the agent be manufactured chemically, electrically, or electrolytically, and brought into contact ,With the flour immediately as generated. It is also possible to accurately control the vaporization of the liquefied mixture and thereby regulate the quantity of the agent ape plied to a given quantity of flour. The gases contact with the fiour are practically anhydrous which prevents when they come into the formation of acids that are both injurious to the flour and also wasteful of the gases themselves. The agent may be supplied to the miller mixed in the proper readiness to be used in an apparatus which is extremely inexpensive to install and easy to operate even by the unskilled.

The method of applying the gaseous agent to flour, as above described, might tised with other agents than the mixture of nitrosyl-chljorid and chlorin gases;

ample, the 'm' bromin. I do not claim herein specifically the use of chlorin alone, as this is claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 749,493, filed Feb. 19, 1913 with 'its constituents proportions and in foriex thod is susceptible of being carried out with chlorin alone, nitrogen trioxid (N 0 or (patented September 2, 1913, in Patent No. v

I claim: 1. The process of maturing flour and removing the color therefrom which consists in applying to the a mixture of liquefi d nitrosyl chlorid and chlorin gases.

2. The process of maturing flour and rea moving the color therefrom which consists in applying to the flour in regulated quantities a gaseous agent formed by vaporizing liquefied nitrosyl chlorid and chlorin gases mixed in such quantities that chlorid does not constitute more than five per cent. of :the mixture. I

3. The process of maturingfiour and removing the color therefrom, which consists in applying to the flour, in regulated quantities, a gaseous agent formed by vaporizing a mixture of anhydrous chlorid and chlorin gases. p

4. The .process of maturing flour and removing the color therefrom, q in applying to the flour, while'in suspension in the air in an inclosed space, a gaseous agent formed by vaporizing a mixture of anhydrous liquefied nitrosylchlorid and chlorin-gases introduced into said inclosed space in the form of a stream and diluted liquefied nitrosyl moving the color therefrom, which consists in applying to the flour, while in suspension flour in regulated quantities a gaseous agent formed by vaporizing which consists a stream of compressed air applied to the gas stream at the polnt the latter enters the nitrosyl in, the air in an inclose'd space, a bleaching and maturing agent which at ordinary temperatures pressure formed by gradually vaporizin a stored quantity of said agent in lique ed condition and introducing the gas into said inclosed space in the form of a regulated is an active gas and atmospheric stream, diluted by a stream of compressed moving the color therefrom, which consists in applying-to the flour, in suspension in the air in an inclosed space, a gaseous agent in the form of a thin stream surrounded by a stream of compressed air which operates to break up the gas stream and dilute the gas with air before the gas comes into contact with the flour.

7. The method of treating flour to mature 15 and whiten it which consists in bringing into contact therewith, diluted with air, a bleaching and hydrolizing gaseous agent obtained from an anhydrous source of supply.

JOHN A. \VESENER.

Witnesses i L. A. I anmcnnnno,

G. Y. SKINNER. 

